"Actor: John Laus"

• The Russia House | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £8.96   |  Saving you £4.03 (44.98%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Intelligent casting, strong performances and the persuasive chemistry between Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer prove the virtues in director Fred Schepisi's well-intended but problematic screen realization of this John Le Carré espionage thriller. At its best, The Russia House depicts the bittersweet nuances of the pivotal affair between a weary, alcoholic London publisher (Connery) and the mysterious Russian beauty (Pfeiffer) who sends him a fateful manuscript exposing the weaknesses beneath Soviet defence technology. Connery's Barley is a gritty, all-too-human figure who's palpably revived by his awakening feelings for Pfeiffer's wan, vulnerable Katya, whose own reciprocal emotions are equally convincing. Together, they weave a poignant romantic duet. The problems, meanwhile, emanate from the story line that brings these opposites together. Le Carré's novels are absorbing but typically internal odysseys that seldom offer the level of straightforward action or simple arcs of plot that the big screen thrives on. For The Russia House, written as glasnost eclipsed the cold war's overt rivalries, Le Carré means to measure how old adversaries must calibrate their battle to a more subtle, subdued match of wits. Barley himself becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the manuscript because British intelligence chooses to use him as cat's paw rather than become directly involved. Such subtlety may be a more realistic take on the spy games of the recent past but it makes for an often tedious, talky alternative to taut heroics that Connery codified in his most celebrated early espionage role. If the suspense thus suffers, we're still left with an affecting love story, as well as some convincing sniping between British and US intelligence operatives, beautifully cast with James Fox, Roy Scheider and John Mahoney. Veteran playwright Tom Stoppard brings considerable style to the dialogue, without solving the problem of giving us more than those verbal exchanges to sustain dramatic interest. --Sam Sutherland

• TT 2010 Review | DVD | (26/07/2010) from £4.98   |  Saving you £20.01 (401.81%)   |  RRP £24.99

  TT 2010 Review

• Ripley's Game | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  How do you turn an innocent person into a murderer? That's the diabolical game that Tom Ripley plays on an unassuming Englishman in his fourth outing on film.

• Night Crossing | DVD | (20/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In the fall of 1979 one of history's most ingenious and courageous flights to freedom took place when two families fled from Communist East Germany to the West in their own handcrafted hot air balloon. Starring John Hurt (HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE) Jane Alexander (THE CIDER HOUSE RULES) and Beau Bridges Walt Disney Pictures brings to the screen this remarkable true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families and their daring death-defying escape.

• The The Marriage Of Maria Braun | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £22.82   |  Saving you £-2.83 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II only for him to disappear in the war. Alone Maria uses her beauty and ambition to prosper in Germany's ""economic miracle"" of the 1950s. Fassbinder's biggest international box-office success and the first part of his 'postwar trilogy' (along with Veronica Voss and Lola) The Marriage of Maria Braun is a heartbreaking study of a woman picking herself up from the ruins of her own life as well as a pointed metaphorical attack on a society determined to forget its past.

• Meryl Streep - It's Complicated/Out Of Africa/Julie & Julia/Kramer Vs Kramer/Postcards From The Edge/Adaptation | DVD | (20/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Titles Comprise: It's Complicated: Two-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia! The Devil Wears Prada) Steve Martin (The Pink Panther Cheaper By The Dozen) and Alec Baldwin (My Sister's Keeper 30 Rock) star in this hilarious look at marriage divorce and everything in between. With a thriving bakery a new romance and her divorce finally behind her Jane Adler (Streep) has her life all figured out... until her ex-husband Jake (Baldwin) decides he'll stop at nothing to win her back. Out Of Africa: Meryl Streep stars as Karen Blixen the restless wife of European aristocrat and plantation owner Baron Bror Blixen (Brandauer). When Bror departs to hunt big game and chase women the running of their East African coffee plantation falls to Karen. She throws herself into this task with the same determination and spirit she brings to her passionate but sporadic affair with free-spirited British hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford). While enduring her husband's infidelities and the eventual destruction of their beloved land she entertains Denys and befriends the workers. Hatton shares Karen's profound love for the African landscape but is unwilling to sacrifice his independence for their relationship... Julie & Julia: Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's Julie & Julia and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Based on two true stories Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who though separated by time and space are both at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion fearlessness and butter anything is possible. Kramer Vs Kramer: Returning home late from work one night a career-obsessed Ted Kramer is told by his wife that she is leaving him. After a life of being 'somebody's daughter' or 'somebody's wife ' she's going off to find herself - leaving Ted to care for their 6 year-old son. Ted while trying to hold down his job gets to really know his son: cooking his meals taking him to the park understanding every need and fear. For the first time in his life he feels like a fulfilled parent. But then Joanna returns. And she wants her son back... Postcards From The Edge: Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine star as daughter and mother in this wickedly witty expos'' of life in the Hollywood fast lane based on the autobiographical book by Carrie Fisher. Adaptation: Lovelorn screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Cage) turns to his less talented twin brother Donald (also Cage) for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere...

• Spotswood | DVD | (28/08/2006) from £9.99   |  Saving you £-6.00 (-150.40%)   |  RRP £3.99

  A coldblooded management consultant infamous for downsizing every firm he comes into contact with re-examines his own morals and values when his latest assignment puts him face to face with those affected by such actions.

• Spotswood | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £31.72   |  Saving you £-26.47 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Spotswood (Aka The Efficiency Expert)

• Men | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Meet Stella James (Sean Young)... sensuous fiercely independent and possessing a fiery appetite for life. She vigorously pursues her ambition to become a haute cuisine chef while also seducing a variety of men to educate herself in the realm of love and lust. Her passion for food is matched only by her appetite for men. In the traditional roles of the sexes Stella is the woman to break the mould. Stella's sexual odyssey is launched from the apartment of wealthy Teo (Dylan Wals

• The Mind Snatchers | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Christopher 'Barking Mad' Walken in his first leading role. In this his first leading role Christopher Walken plays a misfit G.I. who finds himself as a guinea pig in a bizarre brain research experiment. A compelling tale of mind-numbing drugs boisterous soldiers and a sinister German scientist. Hailed as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest meets A Clockwork Orange The Mind Snatchers is adapted from the Broadway play The Happiness Cage and features a very young Walken showing his early talent for spontaneous menace giving a chilling performance as Private James Reese who has his mental stability stolen from him. It seems that Walken never really got it back as he went on to build an illustrious film career playing killers gangsters and plain barking mad psychos. Reese is a constant offender sociopathic bordering on schizophrenic. His wild behaviour means he has inadvertently caught the attention of the army shrinks who have sinister plans for him. A German scientist Dr. Frederick (Joss Ackland) is working on a way to pacify overly aggressive soldiers by developing implants that directly stimulate the pleasure centres of the brain. Reese is 'volunteered' by his superiors for the secret medical experiment and finds himself in a military hospital. There are two other patients only one of whom Sgt. Boford Miles (Ronny Cox) can speak. Reese's attempts to discover the nature of the experiment are unsuccessful - he knows that Miles and the other patient have fatal diseases and that the work has been sanctioned by The Major (Ralph Meeker) but when enlightenment finally comes Reese wishes he had been kept from the truth after all. In 1970 Walken had screentested for the Ryan O'Neil part in Love Story. They didn't think he was right for the part but things could have been so very different if they had. Following a brief appearance in The Anderson Tapes as Sean Connery's sidekick Walken's mesmerisingly dark performance in The Mind Snatchers in 1972 meant that he was never going to play the romantic lead and instead went on to become our favourite screen weirdo. Daring Brilliant - NEW YORK TIMES

• TT 2010 Review Blu-Ray (Combi Pack with DVD) | Blu Ray | (20/09/2010) from £16.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (76.52%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Official DVD Review of the 2010 Isle of Man TT brings fans all the action and atmosphere from the world's greatest road race festival. Once again making use of the excellent footage captured by North One Television the action packed DVD review delivers a comprehensive look back at two weeks of speed and drama. With extensive coverage of Practice Week the five solo races both sidecar races and the new clean emissions TT Zero event for electric bikes the Official Review is the definitive story of one of motorsport's greatest events. In addition to edge-of-the-seat race action as the bikes reach up to 190mph blasting around the legendary Mountain Course just inches from walls houses and hedges the TT DVD features white-knuckle on-bike footage informed commentary rider interviews behind-the-scenes access and special features. The 15-times TT winner John McGuinness and Honda teammate Steve Plater lead the entry list for the 2010 TT while Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey carry the banner for Suzuki as the manufacturer celebrates its 50th anniversary. It's an all-star cast with Michael Rutter Ryan Farquhar Guy Martin and many more challenging for solo honours. Dave Molyneux already a 14-times TT winner is the man with a target on his back as the best sidecar crews in the world including drivers like Tim Reeves Ben Birchall and Klaus Klaffenbock race for honours - joined by the new team launched by five-time TT winner Nick Crowe. Plus the 2010 TT promised a mouthwatering line-up of newcomers including Hudson Kennaugh David Johnson Dan Hegarty and Brian McCormack. This is the Official DVD Review of the 2010 TT packed with essential action and heart-stopping drama.

• Frankenthumb | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A half-hour parody, Frankenthumb is one of a series of featurette pastiches of famous movies masterminded by Steve Oederkerk (Kung Pow: Enter the Fist) cast with human thumbs with CGI-inset mouths and eyes, a process that is weirder than it is funny. A précis of the 1931 Frankenstein, shot on impressive (and beautifully-lit) miniature sets, the film tells the old, old story: megalomaniac Dr Frankenthumb and his inept assistant Humpy create life in the laboratory, unleashing a monster named Pepper ("because he's brought spice into our lives") who goes on a rampage, menaces the daughter of a somewhat irritating Italian man, and is pursued by a mob into a burning windmill, whereupon a guest star from an earlier mini-epic (Bat Thumb) turns up to deliver some sort of an ending. One or two good jokes pop up, but probably not enough. On the DVD: Frankenthumb on disc is a very nice package, containing storyboards, manufactured outtakes and cast interviews, trailers for this and the rest of the series (Thumb Wars, The Blair Thumb, Thumbtanic, Bat Thumb, The Godthumb) and a mass commentary track by the entire creative team that makes a cheerful accompaniment. --Kim Newman